BATON ROUGE -- LSU's 2007-08 men's basketball team will travel north of the border and from coast to coast -- and beyond -- with opponents making cross-country and cross-town treks.

There's even a little nostalgia thrown in. The Tigers will play an exhibition game Nov. 1 against Coach John Brady's alma mater, Belhaven College of Jackson, Miss.

"I'm glad we could do this," said Brady, in his 11th season at LSU. "It's going to help us in terms of game preparation and game-day routine. If it can help the school where I played, that makes it a little more special."

Brady said returning players will begin practice Friday and will be joined by incoming players Monday, the first day of classes.

With five incoming recruits, the Tigers were fortunate to schedule a preseason road trip, allowed once every four years by the NCAA. LSU will travel to Toronto for three games in three days, Sept. 1-3, against University of Guelph, York University and the University of Toronto.

The Tigers will leave for Canada on Aug. 31.

"The practice time is good, but the time together is going to be the most important thing," Brady said. "It's going to be great for our team to get some early workouts, see the new guys play and get some things on film. That lets our guys see themselves, and we can develop an identity of play before we start practice."

Preparation is a buzzword for this season's Tigers because, aside from the travel, the schedule is as difficult as last season's with a much less seasoned team.

The Tigers will play Oklahoma State in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 19. The three-day tournament includes Marquette, Illinois and Kansas.

The Tigers also have road games at Villanova (Dec. 6) in the first SEC/Big East challenge, Wichita State (Dec. 19) and Texas A&M (Jan. 5). The Tigers will play Tulane at New Orleans Arena on Jan. 2.

"The schedule for this basketball season is definitely one of the most challenging we have had here at LSU," Brady said. "We will get tested early at neutral sites, and we will find out about ourselves in hostile environments."

The home schedule features games against Southern (Dec. 1), Oregon State (Dec. 22) and Washington (Dec. 29). The eight-game SEC home slate is highlighted by visits from Tennessee (Feb. 9) and Kentucky (Feb. 16).